The Sunday News
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
THE death of Silindokuhle Sibanda (15) from Gwanda after being brutally assaulted by her 31-year-old lover who had turned her into his wife is a clear indication that more work needs to be done by different stakeholders to ensure success in the fight to end child marriages and teenage pregnancies.
Silindokuhle’s story and the sexual exploitation she experienced over six years exposes many loopholes within society. After her mother died in 2016, Silindokuhle who was aged nine went to stay with her aunt in Binga. During her stay there, her uncle who has three wives raped her several times and “turned her into his wife”.
The abuse came to light after Silindokuhle fell pregnant sometime last year before she later suffered a miscarriage in December. She had to drop out of school in Binga and returned home to her father’s homestead in Gwanda.
Silindokuhle told her family that her uncle used to rape her almost on a daily basis. He would smear petroleum jelly on Silindokuhle’s private parts for lubrication purposes before forcing himself onto her. After Silindokuhle suffered a miscarriage in December, life went on. She did not receive any counselling or emotional support to help her get through the traumatic experience.
She met Thandazani Ncube (31) from Singukwe Village in January who proposed love to her. In February, Ncube took Silondokuhle from her father’s homestead by force and went to stay with her at his parent’s homestead.
During their stay together, Ncube constantly assaulted Silindokuhle but she could not leave him as she feared for her life and the life of her family which stays in the same village. This abuse occurred under the watchful eye of Ncube’s mother, Ms Sibongile Ncube, who never reported the matter to the police. Silindokuhle’s family knew of the abuse she was suffering but little effort was made to free their daughter.
In the early hours of Sunday morning last week, Ncube brutally assaulted Silindokuhle after accusing her of cheating on him while they were on their way home from a traditional ceremony. After the brutal attack, Ncube carried the girl home in a wheelbarrow and placed her on their bed. She was pronounced dead a few hours later. Silondukuhle was buried on Thursday at her parent’s homestead while her assailant has been placed under remand at Gwanda Prison.
Such a shocking incident shows that a lot of work still has to be done to record success in the fight to end child marriages and teenage pregnancies within communities. Children continue to be exploited sexually under the watchful eye of neighbours and relatives. Some families go on to protect perpetrators if they are relatives.
They also ignore the psychological and emotional trauma which is experienced by the survivors and its effects in the long run. Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) co-ordinator Mr Khumbulani Maphosa said people had to exercise due diligence before placing a child under the care of anyone.
Matabeleland Institute of Human Rights (MIHR) co-ordinator, Mr Khumbulani Maphosa
He said safe spaces for children were limited as they were being exploited by those expected to care for them.
“As relatives, we have to ensure that we place children under proper care. When a child loses a parent, people often look for the next convenient person who can take care of the child. It often tends to be either someone who can afford to look after the child or someone who is willing to accommodate the child,” he said.
Mr Maphosa added: “We need to look beyond resources and interrogate the person’s ability to protect the child against further vulnerability. If a child isn’t placed in a proper and safe environment, then that becomes a violation of the child’s rights.”
He said families could also consult with technocrats to help find a suitable environment for orphaned or vulnerable children. Mr Maphosa said when Silindokuhle returned to her rural home pregnant, her family undermined the trauma she had suffered from being repeatedly raped by her uncle. He said the girl needed to receive proper care to help her recover.
He said after suffering a miscarriage, Silindokuhle was left to continue with her life as if nothing had happened.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done to capacitate communities on how to help these children that go through sexual and physical abuse. This girl should have received psychosocial support the moment her family learnt that she had been sexually exploited. She was going to be placed in a proper facility and also get the necessary help and maybe the incident which led to her death could have been avoided,” said Mr Maphosa.
He said people often rush to blame Government and authorities without considering the bit they could have contributed as communities.
Mr Maphosa said there was also need for Silindokuhle to be removed from the community to protect her from being sexually and physically abused by her lover who had turned her into his wife. He said there was need for communities and families to act speedily when they see a child being sexually exploited. He also urged members of the public to desist from protecting pedophiles.
Director of Restoration of Hope, Mr Clive Simango said the sexual abuse which Silindokuhle experienced at the age of nine caused severe damage on her body.
“Having sexual relations with children has far reaching consequences which can affect the survivors even when they are adults. Such a person views sexual intercourse as a painful experience instead of a pleasurable act. Even at school, such children grow up in fear and uncertainty. They have trust issues and may see everyone in their life as a potential threat,” he said.
Mr Simango said the communities had different structures that could play a crucial role in protecting children and preventing them from being exploited sexually.
He said some pedophiles were taking advantage of the laxity within communities.
Mr Simango said village health workers, child protection committees within wards, institutions such as schools and clinics, community leaders and villagers had to play a watchdog role. He said if every single case of child marriage or teenage pregnancy was treated with the urgency it needed and perpetrators were brought to book, then it could serve as a lesson for like-minded people.
“A look into the life of Silindokuhle shows that her rights were violated in so many ways. A lot of young girls are in the same situation and in dire need of help. She was raped by her uncle, she dropped out of school, she was impregnated, she was raped by her 31-year-old lover who turned her into his wife and also assaulted her. Silindokuhle was just a child but she was turned into a woman and was violated. We have so many children who are going through the same,” Mr Simango said.
He said people often rush to dismiss a child who is sexually active as wayward without exploring the root causes and considering that the child is not yet mature enough to make wise and informed decisions.
Mr Simango said there was need for communities to see and understand the gravity of child sexual exploitation and treat it like any other case. He said the same manner that community members team up and demand justice on a murderer or a thief that has tormented them they should be how they speak up against pedophiles and seek justice for the innocent children.
Mr Ziphongezipho Ndebele
Padare/ Enkundleni/Men’s Forum on Gender programmes officer, Mr Ziphongezipho Ndebele said there was need to incorporate and involve men more in the fight to end child marriages and teenage pregnancies.
He said men needed to normalise speaking up against child marriages and teenage pregnancies. Mr Ndebele said men occupy most leadership roles in society and have to use their influence to spread the word in various platforms.
“If men take a stand and speak out against gender based violence, then we’ll have less men committing these offences and more ensuring efforts to protect women and children,” he said.
Child marriage, child sexual exploitation and teenage pregnancies remain a major concern not only in Zimbabwe but across the world. Child marriage is now firmly on the global development agenda, most prominently through its inclusion in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 5 which calls for the elimination of the practice by 2030. SDG 5 seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Child marriage is most prevalent in the poorest households. It robs girls of their childhood and forces them to adopt adult roles and responsibilities.–@DubeMatutu
